Police track 100mph urban joyrider

A man has been accused of driving his motorcycle through a built-up area at over 100 miles per hour, filming the ride and posting the footage on the internet. Jeremy Parrott, 37, of Somerset, was questioned by police after they saw the video on YouTube.

The film shows a Yamaha R1 superbike driving through traffic, squeezing between two cars driving in opposite directions and returning to Parrott's home address. The video does not show the driver, and Parrott has not admitted being the driver.

The camera was mounted so that it recorded the driver's-eye view of the road as well as the speedometer. Not only did the motorcycle begin and end its journey at Parrott's home address, it shows a vehicle number plate in the drive way, which may have helped police trace Parrott.

"They came and knocked on my door and said I've come to talk to you about the words YouTube and R1," said Parrott in an interview with Motorcycle News. Parrott was questioned by police and may be charged.

Parrott has declined mainstream press interviews, but in the MCN interview, part of which can be heard accompanying the video at Motorcyclenews.com, he neither categorically denied nor admitted being the rider of the bike.

"I wasn't the rider of the bike necessarily," he said. "I'm not saying it's me." When asked could he explain why the motorcycle began from and returned to his house he simply said "no".

"This man was driving through a built-up area, past a housing estate and a school, at up to 100mph," said a spokesman for Avon and Somerset police.

"There have been a number of incidents of people videoing themselves driving at excessive speeds in urban areas. They are putting their lives and the lives of other road users at risk."

"The motorcyclist is risking a long ban," said the police spokesman. "This is an important example to other road users thinking of putting videos like this on the internet.

"What is humorous to some could be fatal to others. If anyone knows of individuals involved in speeding they should contact police."

The incident is just the latest example of YouTube and other video sites proving a fertile hunting ground for police. In the US, a string of teenagers have been arrested after being identified in YouTube films.

Four young people were arrested after a video they posted of them beating up a girl was viewed many times, and others have been caught making threats against schools in clips they posted. ®